Options
by Mandolin
Summary: What if Michael wasn't the only option when Theo had to harvest a brain?


Disclaimer: "Now and Again" and all related indicia belongs to Glenn Gordon Caron,   
Picturemaker Productions and CBS Productions. No permission, no profit,   
no lawyers.   
  
I feel I should warn everyone right off the bat - NO BETA READERS were   
involved in the writing of this fic. Chronologically, this was my first   
"Now and Again" fanfic, a scatterbrained little piece that I had to write  
so my creativity demons would stop harassing me and let me get back to my   
papers. There's an obscure in-joke to "Stargate: SG-1" that I felt compelled  
to throw in. Feedback, even monosyllabic feedback, is appreciated. :)  
  
Originally written: October 20, 1999  
  
  
Options  
by Amanda Ohlin  
  
  
Dr. Theodore Morris frowned at the file spread out on the table before him.   
In the space of an hour, he had managed to procure the family history,  
educational records, medical records, previous psychiatric evaluations,  
military records, and more pertaining to the candidate's background.  
After scanning through an entire life's worth of documentation, only one  
thing was clear.  
  
He did not want this brain.  
  
Within two days after his team had reached the point of no return, a car  
crash had turned what was once a United States Marine into a vegetable.  
At first glance, it looked like a perfect setup. His colleagues  
supported the choice, lauded it even. But Theo knew better. In fact, he  
knew the donor in question. Not very well, but enough to know he was,  
for lack of a better term, a complete jackass.  
  
Sighing, Theo ran over the basics in his mind. Justin Ziegler,  
twenty-seven years old. Obviously athletic, unmarried, and the military  
training was there. It seemed the perfect choice until one checked the  
records more closely. While he'd somehow managed to avoid getting into  
serious trouble, his records showed several instances of insubordination  
as well as recklessness. According to his medical records, Ziegler had  
on one occasion given himself a concussion by letting his friends  
imitate wrestling and ram his head into the wall. For all they knew, he  
probably had some brain damage. Theo knew the son only through the  
father, and the son was even more narrow-minded and arrogant. The only  
reason he was in that hospital bed was because he'd had too much to  
drink before getting behind the wheel.   
  
Sure, Theo could say no, but then what was left? Nothing. At the moment,  
Ziegler was their only choice. With their funding being threatened, and  
their research at a critical stage, a donor had to be found. Soon.  
Unfortunately, unless a miracle happened, they were stuck with what they  
had. Perhaps it would work out; perhaps a second chance at life might  
shock Ziegler into cleaning up his act. Nothing like staring death in  
the face to get someone to accept responsibility.   
  
But still the doubts lingered. Theo gritted his teeth. It wasn't right.  
The donor was too risky. Well trained, yes. Experienced, perhaps.  
Mature... the jury was still out.   
  
A knock on the door broke into his thoughts. "Come in."  
  
"Sir?" A familiar shaved head poked its way through the door, followed  
by the rest of the agent in question. "You told me to inform you in the  
event of any other options."  
  
Theo turned, taking the manila envelope from the agent's outstretched  
hand, skimming the topmost page. "How long ago?"  
  
"Forty-five minutes, tops. Declared DOA, but we managed to stabilize  
what mattered." The agent looked fairly uncomfortable. "Considering  
there wasn't much else left."  
  
Nodding, Theo flipped through the new set of records in his hands.  
Michael Wiseman, forty-three years old. No military history, married,  
one daughter. Formerly an insurance executive. Theo grimaced. At least  
that meant he had a college education.   
  
Seeing the look on his superior's face, the agent shifted from foot to  
foot. "It's either this or Ziegler, sir." Theo made a dismissive noise.  
"They said it was your call."  
  
Damn right. This was his project, after all. It was what years of  
research was building up to. "How much time until our window closes?"  
  
"An hour at most."  
  
Theo scanned the file for a second time before speaking. "I need to  
think about this." Taking his cue, the agent left the small office.  
  
Alone again, Theo leaned back and studied the records before him more  
closely. No criminal history, aside from a few parking tickets. Received  
his Master's in business from Columbia University, so it was safe to say  
Wiseman wasn't ignorant. But he also had absolutely no military training  
to speak of. They'd have to start from the ground up with a civilian.  
Which meant that they would have to devote a sizeable amount of time  
just going through the basics.   
  
Of course, with Ziegler they might have to spend just as much time  
undoing some of his training in favor of some of the techniques they  
specifically planned to implement. Not to mention taking down his ego a  
few notches. The problem with having a previously trained brain was that  
the old training potentially conflicted with the new. It would almost be  
easier to start from the beginning.  
  
The biggest concern, of course, was how to sever either donor from his  
past. Either case would prove difficult. Even from skimming his file,  
Theo could tell that Wiseman probably wouldn't be eager to part with  
his. You could tell a devoted family man pretty easily nowadays since  
the phenomenon was so scarce.   
  
Ziegler probably might not have as much trouble with it - but keeping  
his identity under wraps would be difficult. The problem was his  
father's connections. Bryan Ziegler was widely known on Capitol Hill,  
and intensely suspicious of any covert activity, even if it was for the  
benefit of national security. You never knew when you might run into  
someone who knew the man, even if they worked in intelligence. Theo  
still hadn't worked out how to effect the transplant in Ziegler's case  
without inviting suspicion.   
  
Wiseman's brain, on the other hand, was all ready to go. It was far less  
likely that an insurance salesman would have any acquaintances among the  
agencies they'd be working with.  
  
True, the "investors" wouldn't like it. Theo could just see Senator  
Kinsey gnashing his teeth and complaining about the three billion  
dollars wasted. But it was Kinsey and others like him who were rushing  
them, so eager for results that they were forcing him to pick the first  
decent brain that came along.  
  
After all, it was his project. He didn't want a twenty-something brain  
to go with the perfect twenty-something body they were poised to create.  
That would almost defeat the purpose, in a way. Perhaps Mr. Wiseman  
might be a bit more appreciative at a second chance at life. He might  
even be more controllable than a hot-headed insubordinate Marine who  
didn't always follow orders. At the very least, he had to be less  
obnoxious. *Anyone* had to be less obnoxious.  
  
From the start, Theo had been against the idea of using Ziegler as a  
donor, and not just because of the man's faults. Naturally, his faults  
had plenty to do with it. But Theo knew him; that was the crux of the  
matter. To use the mind of a man he knew, even an acquaintance, would  
never do. Even if Ziegler did clean up his act, did behave responsibly,  
and did get the job done, Theo would still see the reckless, insubordinate   
brat who had only avoided being kicked out of the Marine Corps thanks to   
his father's influence.   
  
Once again, he was trying to convince the practical side of himself what  
his gut instinct already knew. He could not accept Justin Ziegler as the  
donor. And while the alternative before him was not ideal, it was far  
more preferable. As miracles went, this was probably the best he would  
get.   
  
He knocked on the door, and the agent opened it. "We're going with the  
subway option."   
  
The other man only nodded, knowing better to argue as Theo stacked up  
the files and placed them in their appropriate folders. He stepped out  
into the corridor, carrying the case histories under one arm.  
  
Yes, there would be some opposition. Yes, there would be a few irate  
Senators. Yes, there would be some difficulty. On the outside, it seemed  
like a ridiculous decision, but anyone who was fully aware of the  
alternatives would understand. Maybe it was a flawed choice, but Theo  
was sure it was the best they had.   
  
Besides... how much trouble could an insurance salesman be?  
  
*****  
  
The End 


End file.
